The Sunday Market, Waterside, Stratford upon Avon

A treat of colour and aromas, the Sunday market is a treat.  All manner of crafts and art is for sale in the bright yellow and blue stalls along Waterside from the bridge to the Shakespeare Theatre. Like Stratford usually, it is particularly busy when it is sunny or a bank holiday which makes the atmosphere even more enjoyable but expect plenty of traffic.

Plenty of choice for food, with noodles, carved roasts, crepes and more on offer.

With the gardens and regular entertainers just behind, the market is well worth a visit for an hour or so.

 

Hatton Locks

Travel towards Hatton from Warwick and about a mile from the A46 turnoff you will come across a small lane on the left that will take you to Hatton Locks.  This is an amazing flight of 21 locks in just a two mile stretch of the Grand Union Canal.

Pick a nice sunny day when there are plenty of narrow boats and you can stroll along the canal path watching them making their gradual progress through the locks or take one of the more ambitious walks using a free map that is available from the café and shop.

There is a small pay and display car park at the locks and some information about the canal and locks supplied by British Waterways.

While wandering the tow paths, take in the colourful traditional artwork on many of the narrow boats that are moored along the canal’s banks.

Further up the canal from the top of the flight there is a path leading towards Hatton Country World with its shopping village and farm attraction.  For those not local and without a car, Warwick Parkway train station is close by and there is a footpath leading from one of the car parks to the bottom of the flight.

 

 

Winter - The Abbey Fields, Kenilworth

It is splendid how the Warwickshire landscape can change so dramatically over winter. No sooner had the leaves fallen from the trees, opening up some interesting views of the castle that had been hidden in summer than November brought the floods. 


The Ford

The rivers swelled and the ford filled until it was level with the raised pavement and impassable for pedestrians as well as cars. 

A torrent poured into the fields where the rushing Finham Brook and the lake merged.



The lake looking to the castle

Fields turned into natural lakes where even the handrails of the bridges were submerged. Trees looked suddenly much shorter, dogs splashed in the new shorelines where a day before they had played ball and swans and ducks swam happily where there was once a path. Further down the fields, the swollen river crept over the tennis courts and flooded the footpath beneath Bridge Street and swept along to the allotments. The sun came out and people flocked to see the amazing changes, many with their cameras.


The dark nights of December were brightened by the switching on of the Christmas lights, first in the town centre and then in the old part of town where a couple of reindeer were in attendance, seemingly unconcerned at the attention they were receiving.



Footpath beside the lake

The water had hardly receded and the brook had just returned to normal when along came the snow, covering everything in a thick white blanket that levelled field, path and mole hill. Tree branches sparkled and a layer of snow settled on the frozen surface of the lake. 



Sledging on the slopes

In scenes reminiscent of Lowry, people, bundled up from the cold,  covered the slopes and lined the tops of the hills; matchstick people against the brilliant white with sledges and toboggans providing so much fun. Everything looked clean and bright, even until well after nightfall.

Now February has arrived and the snows have gone. The fields are returning to a bright green, if still a little muddy. The morning mist shrouds the lake and the two swans glide silently along its surface.  A red plastic sledge lies broken against the river bank and the moles have resumed their own re-landscaping with seemingly fresh vigour.

And soon the Spring will be here and the leaves will appear on the trees ready for summer.

St Nicholas Church, Winter,  2012 -2013

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Spoke too soon.  It’s nearly the first day of Spring and heading towards the end of March with Easter next weekend and everywhere is covered on snow again.  Biting cold winds and white skies. 

The Pavement Art of Stratford upon Avon

The Pavement Art of Stratford upon Avon

Have you come across the street art in Stratford on Avon? It is an absolutely fabulous piece of art work and worthy of exploring. When I first spotted parts of it several years ago I was intrigued as to what it was, other than random phrases, some not in English, words, sounds and occasional footprints, carved (actually ,it was sandblasted) into the pavement around the area of Henley Street, Shakespeare's birthplace and trust.

Ignoring the usual tourist stuff in that area I set off to discover more and soon realised that these were all events witnessed by the artist and recorded into the stone at the spot they occurred. What a brilliant idea. As the artwork meanders through this part of town, you can image what may have been taking place at the time that the artist was watching, a type of voyeur's record.

The observer catches the frivolous, the amusing and the unremarkable but when you trace it you get the feeling that you are witnessing it yourself; the stray comment next to a cash point, the command to “stay there”, the trail of bird’s footprints wandering arbitrary along among the pedestrians, the possible rebuke to a child; you can never know for sure what was taking place at that moment but it certainly inspires the imagination and I am keen to discover more when I am next in Stratford.

When you are in Stratford next and in the Henley Street area of the town, spare a moment to look down at the pavement between the café chairs and the tourist’s feet and you may find yourself looking in on something that happened at a particular time at the very spot years before – on Saturday 18th March to be precise.

'Saturday 18th March' by Janet Hodgson
  For more information: http://www.insitearts.com/projects/stratforduponavon/

Foodie Fortnight in Kenilworth

Foodie Fortnight in Kenilworth

Food, glorious food.  Today was the last day of a new two week event held in Kenilworth and I popped along to see the activities taking place. 

A Foodie Market had been set up where the regular Thursday farmer’s market is normally held at Abbey End, by the Clock Tower. Even before we had turned the corner, enticing smells of hot food wafting from the stalls were enough to set my mouth watering.

There was plenty on offer  - chicken in wine and tarragon sauce, Cotswold roasted lamb with a Salsa Verde, artisan breads, Kenilworth honey, olives, quality meats, pies of all sorts, sausages of numerous variety with or without onions, hand-made burgers, pancakes.

The traditional Pye maker’s stall took my eye with its rabbits and pheasants hanging from the frame of the canopy and a stuffed squirrel on the counter and such a variety of home-made, hand-raised pies. There were pies of rabbit, pork,  venison, wild boar and pigeon and pea pies. He even sells squirrel and crow pies, as well as Homity ( a traditional open vegetable pie) and Fidget pie (a traditional Shropshire pie of gammon, apples, cider and cheese). I couldn’t resist some small Medieval style pastries of  pork and black pudding, pork and stilton and one of garlic and hot chilli, along with some Stilton scones and some pig's pudding.

The Taiko drums were setting an fervent rhythm, with no shortage of audience participation.

At one stand where you could place an order for your Christmas turkey or goose there were two live turkeys and further along the British Hen welfare Trust had an adopt a hen stand with a brood of hens to meet ,and some fresh eggs for sale .

At the Kenilworth honey stall they were also selling beeswax in a variety of forms, some most delicately carved and some live bees.   The Almanac were giving away tasters of their puddings and there was advice on how to go green.  Another stall selling hand made pies had a delicious looking salmon and broccoli as well as a rather meaty shepherds pie but by then the aromas meant I had to sample a sausage batch loaded with two sausages and a stack of onions which was very tasty and peppery.

In Talisman Square, a little along down into the town, there was face painting and a Make and Bake activity ,and the Talisman Theatre, who are  celebrating their 70th anniversary were in costume and had costumes for youngsters to have their photographs taken in.

Restaurants all over the town, including the old town and even the castle, had been putting on special food and wine offers for Foodie Fortnight which coincided nicely with the Oktoberfest Beer festival at the Virgins and Castle  last week, where they had 30  beers to taste, cider, food and music.  A thick booklet detailing the events and activities along with information about the restaurants and pubs taking part, and their offers, were distributed at the beginning of the fortnight, which kicked off with Kenny Bear and the Mayor and food samples and music at the Almanac on Sunday the 30th . 

This looked to be a good annual event so I will be watching out for it again this time next.

 

www.foodiefortnight.co.uk

Castle Hill, Kenilworth

 Castle Hill, Kenilworth

Coming into Kenilworth from Balsall Common, you can glimpse a charming piece of historic Warwickshire as you pass the castle as on the left. Directly opposite the castle, is Castle Hill, curving around and up to High Street above the Abbey Fields.

On one side of the road, leading up from the castle, is a row of quaint bow fronted cottages dating back to the 17^th century, which includes the Clarendon Arms pub, Harrington’s bistro restaurant, Time for Tea tea room and a fashion shop – all worth a visit.

 Just set back from the other side of the road is a group of quaint timber-framed thatched cottages, which were originally built for the builders and stone masons who worked on the castle. This is the restored hamlet of Little Virginia and is purported to be where the first potatoes were planted in England by Sir Walter Raleigh.

Taking a gentle stroll, you can see some interesting detail and enjoy well-kept architecture of the area; ending with a panoramic view over the Abbey Fields. Taking the steep path down into the fields and turning right around the edge of the lake will eventually bring you back to the castle via the ford.

Castle Hill is equally charming in the evenings when the businesses and cottages are illuminated to great effect and the sounds of people enjoying themselves filters outside.

Those visiting the castle will find that crossing the road can be tricky as there are no crossing places but there are wide footpaths once you have crossed over. You can glimpse the cottages and shops of Castle Hill and Castle Green from the Great Keep, when looking out over the Elizabethan Gardens.  For those travelling through the area, there is limited parking along Castle Hill and in the Abbey Fields car park further along and the area is not far from the town centre if you are up for a moderate walk.

Festival of Motoring at Stoneleigh Park

Festival of Motoring at Stoneleigh Park - 25^th and 26^th August

The Festival of Motoring last weekend seemed to be a great success.  Even those that were not ardent classic car enthusiasts must have enjoyed the spectacular range of cars that were displayed by their proud owners. The clubs each had their designated area where you could browse at your leisure; of particular interest to myself were the Triumph Spitfires, as I owned a Mark III many years ago, and I was surprised at how many there were and looking so well preserved, although sadly most were the later Mark IV.  A lot of cars were from the 60s and 70s so the time flew by as we enjoyed reminiscing about the ‘good old days’ and the cars that were around when we were young.
Mid-morning, many of the cars set off for a historic run around Warwickshire, first passing through the arena where a very knowledgeable commentator provided an informative background to many of the makes and models.

As well as cars there were other vehicles and a great collection of motorcycles, as well as regular shows in the Wall of Death, and in the arena amazing displays by the Bolddog motorbike display team with some very hairy stunts.

Hall 2 housed concept vehicles and the future of transport and something less static was the Range Rover 4x4 experience where people could feel what it is like to ride in a 4x4 over an obstacle course that literally lifted the wheels off the ground.

The Sporting Bears Dream Rides provided rides in their members’ classic cars for a modest donation to charity.

For those that wanted a break from the automobilia there was also a craft fair and stalls selling non-motoring items in hall 1 and fairground rides while the Jaguar Band provided the musical distraction.

By mid-afternoon the cars were back in their club areas to welcome more inspections and praise. It is clear how much work and care has gone into presenting these motor cars and bikes and I was pleased that the rain kept away so that their efforts were not spoiled.

Just after 3:30 on the Sunday, a different type of Spitfire provided a fly past, this one being a Mk 2, and one of the few remaining from WWII. It circled several times before heading back, giving everyone the chance to see this marvellous sight, which I always appreciate.

Thanks to the Coventry Transport Museum for putting it on; well worth visiting it again next time it's on.

www.festival-of-motoring,co.uk